General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is out with its first-quarter earnings report for 2014. The conglomerate posted earnings of $0.33 per share, versus the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.32 per share. Revenues were $34.2 billion for the quarter, down 2% from a year ago and versus a consensus estimate of $34.36 billion. All in all, this looks like another great quarter on earnings expectations but one with slightly lower revenues — a trend we keep seeing in large companies.

Several items stood out in this report. Excluding the 2013 NBCUniversal impact and restructuring and other charges, operating earnings were up 9% from the year-ago period. GECC’s Tier 1 common ratio (Basel 1) ended the quarter at 11.4%, up 32 basis points.

GE’s backlog ended at $245 billion. Cash from operating activities was $1.7 billion, and GE ended the quarter with $87 billion of consolidated cash and cash equivalents.

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GE also said that its 2014 framework remains unchanged, with a positive bias. The conglomerate also remains on track for its retail finance IPO, and the company is still targeting 70% of its earnings from the industrial businesses. GE gave the following summaries by unit:

• The company industrial organic revenue growth was 8% in revenues, while industrial segment profits rose 12% to $3.3 billion.
• Growth market revenues were up 7% for the quarter, with double-digit growth in five of nine growth regions.
• Services revenues grew 3%, with double-digit growth in Aviation and Oil & Gas. Equipment revenues grew 12%, on strong new product introductions and solid share positions.
• The breadth of the GE portfolio was reflected in the quarter as the company offset market volatility in Appliances, Healthcare and Mining.
• Infrastructure orders for the quarter were $23.7 billion, flat with the year-ago period.
• GE Capital earnings were flat, with ENI (excluding cash and equivalents) at $374 billion at quarter-end, down $7 billion from last quarter.

CEO Jeff Immelt said:

We had strong results in the first quarter in most of our markets, including Power & Water, Aviation, Oil & Gas, and GE Capital. The environment was generally positive, and we executed on our operational priorities with strong organic growth, margin enhancement, and solid cash generation.

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GE shares closed at $26.12 on Wednesday, and the Thursday indication is up around $26.30. Its consensus price target is $28.73, plus it has the dividend yield of close to 3.5%.

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